CONCACAF publishes report on corruption scandal
(CNS): A committee established by the regional football management body, CONCACAF, has published its findings after an investigation into corruption within the association. The results of the Integrity Commission’s work are now available online after the report was released by the chairman, Sir David Simmons, at the confederation’s XXVIII Ordinary Congress in Panama City last week. The committee found that Jack Warner and Chuck Blazer committed a number of acts of fraud and misappropriated funds from the footballing body as well as violating the rules and code of ethics governing the management of the game.
From dodgy land deals to tax dodging, Warner and Blazer were also found to have repeatedly issued financial statements that they knew contained misrepresentations and material omissions.
Speaking at the congress, CONCACAF President Jeffrey Webb from the Cayman Islands said the congress marked “a defining moment for CONCACAF’s vision of a truly transparent future.” He added, “The development of the game in our region will surely be safeguarded by the oversight of an accountable governance structure, as demanded by all of our member associations.”
Chairing the congress, Webb, who was unopposed in his re-election as Vice President of the Caribbean Zone, told the members that they had the opportunity to empower through development. “This is our time to continue forging a common agenda to build on solid foundations and guarantee professional excellence,” he said
During the congress five national associations were granted admission as new CONCACAF members, which included French Guyana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint-Martin and Sint Maarten. Also, the island of Bonaire was accepted by the congress as an Associate Member of CONCACAF, bringing the total membership to 41 nations.
The committee’s report can be found at www.concacafintegrityreport.com.
Category: Sports
Jeff Webb is quoted as saying that having read the report "It affected me greatly to know that we have wasted so much".
Wasted…or………..?
Warner and Blazer haven't been found to have wasted FIFA's and CONCACAF's money.
They've been found to have stolen it…unless 'fraud' has a different meaning from the dictionary one.
Jeffrey Webb 'retired' David Frederick without he…or Frederick ever explaining the little matter of the 40K that Frederick was reported to have received in the bribery scandal that had Blatter 'retire' Jack Warner…and…Ben Hamin…the football chief of Quatar banned from all football activites.
I don't believe, for one minute, that Webb has taken a penny from football for himself; I know him to be an honest administrator in that respect but…as the old saying goes…
"You lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas"
Former advisor Wrage hits out at Fifa as South America chief steps down
Alexandra Wrage, a Canadian anti-corruption expert, has quit in protest at Fifa's failure to implement new reforms, branding the governing body "an outdated boy’s club".
The news comes on the same day that Nicolas Leoz resigned from Fifa's executive committee for health reasons. The 84-year-old was identified during a criminal trial in 2008 for receiving payments from the governing body's former marketing partner ISL before the company's bankruptcy in 2001.
Wrage was tasked with working alongside the Independent Governance Committee (IGC) in an attempt to restore public confidence in the organisation following a spate of scandals involving internal elections and World Cup hosting decisions.
The IGC was expected to fulfil roles, such as nominating experts for key positions, in Fifa but after a lack of progress Wrage announced her resignation and criticised the organisation in a blog post on Forbes website.
"Blatter has all but declared 'Mission Accomplished', and in a sense it has been," wrote Wrage. ;
"Opportunities for change have been evaded, finessed or re-directed; ; he deftly avoids discussion of the recommendations that simply fell off the table over time. ;
"He did not debate them and did not explain himself; this is no surprise from a man who describes FIFA as if it were a sovereign state over which he presides."
Wrage also revealed how Fifa asked the IGC to stop putting female candidatesforward for top positions, stating that no female candidate would be acceptable, before hitting out at the ineffectiveness of the whole process.
She added: "The initiative was declared an effort to restore public confidence in the organization, but has done little more than polish the veneer on an outdated men’s club."
Please, read this CNS report in the context of this news release from another source….
And judge for yourselves.
Not saying that Jeffrey Webb is not sincere in his speeches…he's very good at making them…but how much can the newest…and youngest member of the 'boys club' really do to change anything in CONCACAF and FIFA ?
He has risen in the ranks of FIFA at the expense of the development of local Caymanian football…is he now going to cut off his nose to spite his face ?
I don't think so !
Go up against Blatter and you're history…just like Jack Warner….and could Warner and Blazer have done any of this without Blatter's knowledge ?
The news report says it all !
In an article on EuroSport.com when questioned about the recent Integrity Commission report into Jack Warner's fraud, Jeff Webb is quoted as saying that having read the report "It affected me greatly to know that we have wasted so much". But if I knew and you knew and everyone else seems to have known, then how come Jeff didn't know. Come on.
So you threaten Sepp Blatter and an Integrity Commission finds you guilty of massive fraud that has been going on for years and was in the public domain anyway (see the Andrew Jennings web site 'Transparacy in Sport'). But you toe the party line and do what Sepp says and you get promoted. FIFA !
Maybe some new opportunities opening up for Mac and his Motley Crew??